Five ways with a packet of spaghetti

With all the pasta shapes around, not to mention the fresh and vacuum-packed varieties available, it is all too easy to forget the virtues of a simple packet of spaghetti. Cheap, humble and versatile, it is something no kitchen should be without.

1. Artichoke and mascarpone pasta

I find the preserved globe artichokes in oil, the ones you get from the deli counter, seriously addictive. Especially on the same plate as some finely sliced prosciutto. But they come at quite a price. Mix them with pasta and a small quantity can go a long way.

Cook the spaghetti in deep, generously salted water. While the pasta is cooking, cut the artichokes in quarters, let the mascarpone melt in a pan over a low heat, then stir in the olive oil. Add the artichokes and mint leaves to the sauce, and season with salt and coarse black pepper.

Drain the pasta, leaving a tablespoon or so of cooking water in the pan, return the pasta to the pan and fold in the sauce. Serve immediately.

2. Spaghetti, sausages and mustard

I used to make this with cappelletti, but rather like twisting the pasta round my fork and then spearing the sausage and bacon on the end.

Cut the sausages into short pieces. Brown them in a deep pan with a little oil. Cut the bacon into strips and add to the sausages. As the fat turns gold, pour in the cream, season with salt, pepper and mustard and leave to simmer gently while you chop the parsley. I like to leave it in quite large pieces.

Fold in the cooked and drained spaghetti. Check the seasoning and tuck in.

3. Spaghetti and mussels

Mussels are still some of the cheapest and most sustainable seafood around. You seem to get a lot of flavour for your money. The only downside right now is scrubbing them in cold water in a freezing February kitchen.

Scrub the mussels and tug off their beards. Check thoroughly for any whose shells are chipped. Pour the wine into a deep saucepan, add the bay leaves and the peppercorns and bring to the boil.

Tip the mussels into the pan and cover with a lid. Leave for 3 or 4 minutes to steam until the mussels have opened. Take them off the heat and leave until cool enough to handle.

Cook the pasta in deep, salted water. Remove the mussels from their shells, discard the shells and retain a small glassful of the cooking liquor. Chop the parsley and the garlic.

Pour a little olive oil into a shallow pan. Add the chilli, finely chopped, the fennel seed and the garlic, cook briefly then add the parsley, the reserved cooking liquor and the mussels.

Drain the pasta as soon as it is ready, then toss together with the mussels. Check the seasoning and serve.

4. Chicken and pasta pie

A huge pie, lighter and (slightly) less trouble than a lasagne, this is as satisfying as winter food gets. Even with top-notch chicken and double cream, this is hardly an expensive supper and feeds 4 generously. (Some of us went back for seconds.)

Cook the spaghetti in deep, generously salted boiling water. Drain and set aside. (A little olive oil will stop it sticking together.) Set the oven at 180C/gas 4.

Cut the mushrooms into quarters. Warm the oil and butter in a deep pan and add the mushrooms, letting them colour nicely here and there. Add the cooked chicken meat and then pour in the wine.

Bring to the boil, scraping away at the sticky remains at the bottom of the pan: they will add much flavour to the sauce.

Pour the cream into the pan, bring back to the boil and turn off the heat. Wash the spinach and put it, still wet from rinsing, into a pan with a tight-fitting lid. Let the spinach cook for a minute or 2 in its own steam, then drain it, squeeze it to remove excess water and chop it roughly.

Fold the cooked spaghetti, mushroom and chicken sauce and spinach together then stir in two-thirds of the grated parmesan and tip into a large baking dish. Scatter the remaining cheese on top and bake for 35 minutes until the top is crisp and golden.

5. A quick and cheap tomato and pasta soup

A bowl of soup, thick with chickpeas and pasta, is the sort of food I want to come home to on a cold winter's night. Sometimes I knock up a large saucepan of it on a Saturday and it lasts through to the middle of the week, but on other occasions I'm just not that well organised.

An "instant" version made with chickpeas and canned chopped tomatoes can be a good-enough second best if you start it with a lump of pancetta or perhaps some smoked bacon and use really good canned tomatoes.

Chop the pancetta into small pieces then fry for a minute or 2 in the olive oil over a moderate heat. Once the pancetta starts to turn golden, peel and crush the garlic and add, followed by the cans of chopped tomato, 400ml of water and the drained canned chickpeas, then bring to the boil. Season with salt and black pepper.

Lower the heat so that the mixture simmers gently, thickening slowly, for about 15-20 minutes. Break the spaghetti into short lengths and boil in deep, generously salted water till tender. Drain. Roughly chop the parsley and stir into the soup together with the spaghetti. I put a drizzle of really good olive into each bowl at the table.